Joselito Set to Bring Andalusia to Eastern Market in November

Joselito, a Spanish restaurant focusing on dishes from the southern area of Spain, Andalusia, is set to open in November in Capitol Hill, just steps away from Eastern Market. The eatery, located in the shuttered Sona Creamery space at 660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, comes from the folks behind the acclaimed SER Restaurant in Ballston. News of SER’s involvement with the space was first reported by the Washington Business Journal and the Capitol Hill Corner blog in early August. Javier Condon, co-owner of Joselito (as well as SER) provided details about the restaurant at Thursday night’s ANC 6B Alcohol Beverage Control Committee meeting.

The menu is still being finalized, but due to the size of the small kitchen, expect a fairly small menu- about 10 hot and 10 cold dishes (meat, seafood, veggie). Each dish will be offered in 3 sizes-tapas (small), media racion (main course size), and racion (family style). For drinks, the owners plan to offer about 6 of each of the following: cocktails, sherries, sangrias/vermouths, Spanish draft beer, and white & red wines (along with 3 sparkling wines). All wine (and perhaps other drinks) will be offered in 3 sizes (by glass, half portion, or bottle). The restaurant will have the same menu for lunch and dinner (perhaps with some sandwich options for lunch), and brunch may be on tap at a later day. Pricing for happy hour will be rather unique for DC-everything on the menu will be discounted by a certain percentage (perhaps 10-30%).

Josalito is taking over Sona’s liquor license, so it will initially have about 60-70 seats, with some outdoor seating, and be open till around 11p on weekdays and midnight on weekends. The old cheesemaking area for Sona will be transformed into additional seating (the glass partition will remain for most part). Construction on the space begins soon.